Highlanders Take 2 Out of 3 in Week 6

Woodson did not wait long to get going as Dylan Robeson hit a sinking line drive that the McLean outfield couldn’t quite come up with to start the game.  Brendan Breslin then followed with a fly ball to right field that fell for a double, moving Robeson to 3^rd.  Fitzgerald then bore down to strike out Jacob Morely.  Connor Finnerty followed with a ground ball out to second base, scoring Robeson and making it 1-0 Woodson.  Jack Dunn then tapped back to Fitzgerald for the final out of the inning.  Woodson had grabbed the early lead, but the Highlanders had succeeded in minimizing the damage.

In the bottom of the first, Riley Beiro grounded out to shortstop.  Chris Russo then flew out to left field.  Fitzgerald followed with a single to right field, and promptly stole second base.  McGillicudy got Buckley to ground out to second, however, ending the threat.

In the second, Fitzgerald got things rolling on the mound.  The right hander allowed a leadoff single to Max Weizenegger, but immediately picked him off of first base.  A groundout and a strikeout quickly ended the frame.

The Highlanders went down in order in the bottom of the 2^nd, as McGillicudy was doing an excellent job of getting ahead in the count and keeping the ball down.

Fitzgerald retired the side in order in the top of the 3^rd, getting consecutive groundouts from Breslin and Morely  before striking out Finnerty looking.

In the bottom of the 3^rd, Beiro got things going for McLean with a two out single up the middle.  Beiro then stole 2^nd base.  Chris Russo followed with a hard earned walk, putting runners on 1^st and 2^nd with two outs.  Beiro and Russo then put on a double steal, advancing to 2^nd and 3^rd.  Fitzgerald walked, loading the bases.  Denis Buckley then singled to left field, scoring Beiro and tying the game at 1.  McGillicudy escaped further damage by getting a strikeout of the next McLean hitter.

Fitzgerald rolled on in the top of the 4^th, allowing a leadoff single to Jack Dunn before retiring the next three Cavalier batters in order and notching his 4^th strikeout of the game.  McGillicudy seemed to get back on track in the bottom of the 4^th, getting Quinn Pippin, David Roffman, and Corey Cannon in order to bring the Cavaliers back to the plate for the top of the 5^th with the game tied at 1.

Colin Madsen led off with a single up the middle.  Dylan Robeson then sacrificed Madsen to 2^nd base for the first out of the inning.  Fitzgerald then hit Breslin with a fastball, putting runners on 1^st and 2^nd.  Fitzgerald was then called for a balk before his first pitch to Jacob Morely, putting runners at 2^nd and 3^rd with 1 out.  Fitzgerald used three off speed pitches in a four pitch at bat to strike out Morely.  With two outs, Madsen scampered home on a past ball, giving Woodson a 2-1 lead.  Finnerty walked, and attempted to get into a rundown with runners on the corners and two out.  Fitzgerald delivered the ball to short stop Chris Russo, who chased Finnerty down for the final out of the inning.  Breslin scored on the play though, pushing Woodson’s lead to 3-1.

The Highlanders never panicked.  Jim Bodson hit a sharp ground ball towards left field, but Morely made an excellent play to his right and nabbed Bodson at first for the first out.  Riley Beiro then singled to right field.  Chris Russo hit a ground ball to 3^rd, but the Woodson infield could not make the play at 2^nd and both runners advanced a base.  Sean Fitzgerald then doubled to deep left field, scoring both Beiro and Russo and tying the game at 3.   Woodson opted to go to their bullpen, and brought in freshman John McGillicudy.  Denis Buckley flew out to centerfield for the 2^nd out of the inning.  Erik Payne then lined a sharp single into right center field, scoring Fitzgerald and giving McLean their first lead of the game at 4-3.  The Cavaliers escaped further damage.

In the top of the 6^th, Fitzgerald took his game up a notch, as he followed up a ground out by Jack Dunn with consecutive strikeouts of Weizenegger and Bobby McCloud, running his strikeout total to six.  McLean came back up for the bottom of the 6^th with a 4-3 lead.

Brett Bleiweis produced a brilliant at bat for the Highlanders, earning a walk after seeing seven pitches.  Riley Beiro then followed with another walk, putting runners at first and second.  Chris Russo laid down an excellent sacrifice bunt for the first out of the inning, but the runners had advanced to 2^nd and 3^rd.  Fitzgerald continued his torrid night at the plate by smacking a single into centerfield, scoring both Beiro and Russo and making it 6-3 McLean.  Denis Buckley then hit a sharp bouncer to the Cavalier 3^rd baseman, who made an errant throw.  With runners on 2^nd and 3^rd,  Erik Payne singled into left, scoring both runners and making the score 8-3.  Woodson escaped further damage, but McLean had opened up the game.

Fitzgerald made short work of the Cavaliers in the top of the 7^th, as Woodson went 1-2-3 to end the game.  The sophomore wrapped up his solid performance by notching his 8^th strikeout of the game, to go along with three hits and just one earned run allowed.  Fitzgerald also led the Highlanders offensively, as he went 3-3 with 4 RBI.  Riley Beiro added a 2-3 day and scored 2 runs, and Erik Payne was 2-4 with 3 RBI.

After the game, Coach Thomas commented, “This is a big win for us.  Woodson has been playing great baseball and we had to play well to beat them on our field tonight.  Sean Fitzgerald obviously played a tremendous all around game for us tonight, and we needed every bit of it.  I also think that we are benefiting from playing excellent defense all the way around.  We continue to improve offensively and we’re starting to see more and more quality at bats from a lot of different guys.  Brett Bleiweis really gave us a great AB in the bottom of the 6^th, and that helped us open up the game a little bit there at the end.  I’m pleased with our progress.”

On Wednesday, April 16^th, the Highlanders hit the road again as they traveled the short ten minute trip across town to face the Langley Saxons.  McLean was going into the game with a record of 9-3 overall, with a 4-2 mark in Liberty District play.  The Saxons entered the game with a record of 6-5, and were 3-3 in district play.  McLean started senior Quinn Pippin on the mound, while Langley countered with senior Jody Davis.

Riley Beiro led off for McLean with a base hit up the middle.  However, a very well executed pitchout from the Saxons led to Beiro being nabbed at 2^nd base trying to steal.  The next two Highlander batters were retired in order.

Langley exploded out of the gates.  The Saxons used three walks and four hits to grab an early 6-0 lead with just one out in the bottom of the first.  Charlie Geiger entered the game in relief for the Highlanders, but before the inning the Saxons had stretched the lead to a commanding 8-0.

The Highlanders tried hard to chip away at the game, but the Saxon infield would not let it happen, using two double play balls to quiet McLean threats.  While McLean managed two runs on a Beiro RBI single and a Pippin solo HR, Langley was able to put the game away with four more runs in the bottom of the 5^th, ending the game via the mercy rule after only five innings of play.

“This is obviously a disappointing result for us tonight”, Coach Thomas said after the game.  “However, this was not a disappointing effort.  We have to tip our caps to Langley because they played a great game and beat the tar out of us.  I thought our guys hung in there really well and kept competing their butts off up until the end, though.   We took that beating like mature athletes and I’m proud of the way we went about our business despite the numbers on the scoreboard tonight.  Nights like this are going to happen every once in a while and you have to find a silver lining somewhere.  Our guys will bounce back.”

On Friday, April 18^th, the Highlanders were back at it yet again as they began their second trip through the Liberty District schedule with their rematch with the Stone Bridge Bulldogs in Ashburn, VA.  Stone Bridge had defeated McLean by a 6-3 margin earlier in the season, and sat a top the Liberty District standings with a perfect 7-0 league mark.  The Bulldogs were 12-2 overall and were ranked #8 in the Metropolitan area by the Washington Post entering the game.  Sophomore Denis Buckley got the nod on the mound for McLean while Stone Bridge countered with senior Tyler Basso.

In the top of the first, Riley Beiro led off by getting hit by a pitch for the eighth time on the season.   Beiro then stole second, but Basso bore down to strike out Chris Russo, Sean Fitzgerald, and Denis Buckley consecutively to end the threat.

Buckley was very sharp in the early going for McLean as well.  Michael Prince struck out to lead off the first.  Buckley then struck out Matt Irwin as well for the 2^nd out of the inning.  Johnny Bladell then singled into center field with two outs.  Bladell advanced to 2^nd on a passed ball. Mike Stancik then doubled to left field, scoring Bladell and giving Stone Bridge a 1-0 lead.  Buckley then got Brian Wheaton to pop out to shortstop, ending the threat.

Erik Payne led off the 2^nd for the Highlanders with a double down the right field line.  Quinn Pippin followed with another double to right center, scoring Payne and tying the game at 1-1.  Basso then got David Roffman to line out to left field for the first out of the frame, and struck the next two McLean hitters out to retire the side and preserve the 1-1 score.

Basso led off with a single to left off of Buckley in the 2^nd, but was quickly picked off of 1^st base.  Patrick Thompson struck out for the 2^nd out of the frame.  Colin Pearson then groundout for the third and final out of the inning.

In the third, Beiro led off with an infield single.  Chris Russo then laid down his 7^th sacrifice bunt of the year, moving Beiro to 2^nd base with one out.  Sean Fitzgerald hit a ground ball to the Bulldog third basemen, who promptly fired a strike to 1B Patrick Thompson.  With Beiro breaking for third, Thompson made a perfect throw back to third base to double up Beiro and end the inning with the score still tied at 1.

Buckley cruised in the bottom of the third, striking out TJ White, Prince, and Irwin consecutively on 12 pitches to retire the side in order.

In the top of the fourth, Buckley led off with a single into left centerfield.  Corey Cannon entered the game as a courtesy runner.  Erik Payne followed with his second double of the game to right field, advancing Cannon to third with no outs.  Basso got Pippin looking for the first out of the inning.  Roffman then followed with a line drive to center field that Irwin dove for but could not hold on to.  Cannon scored on the RBI single, with Payne advancing to third.  Basso notched another strikeout to end the threat, but the Highlanders had grabbed a 2-1 advantage.

Buckley got Johnny Bladel to ground out to begin the bottom of the fourth.  Stancik walked in a very nice at bat.  Wheaton then doubled into left center, giving the Bulldogs runners at 2^nd and third with one out.  Buckley bore down to get Basso to ground out to Pippin at third base for the 2^nd out of the inning, and the runners were forced to hold.  Buckley then notched his 7^th strikeout of the night by getting Thompson on a 1-2 curveball to get out of the jam.

In the 5^th, McLean went down after just three batters despite a two out walk by Chris Russo, who was nabbed trying to steal 2^nd base.  The Highlanders took the field for the bottom of the 5^th leading 2-1.

Pearson led off for the Bulldogs by dumping a base hit over Pippin’s head at third base.  White then walked, giving Stone Bridge runners at 1^st and 2^nd with no outs.  McLean then brought Fitzgerald in to pitch, moving Buckley behind the plate to catch, and inserting Kendall Wilkins in the game in right field.  Prince attempted to sacrifice bunt, but Fitzgerald made a great play in throwing to third base to retire Pearson for the first out.  Irwin then struck out swinging for the 2^nd out.  Fitzgerald then got Bladel to fly out to Wilkins in right field to retire the side and preserve the 2-1 lead.

Fitzgerald then singled to lead off the top of the 6^th, and immediately stole 2^nd base.  Buckley popped out to Thompson for the first out of the inning.  Payne then continued his fantastic evening with his third hit of the game, scoring Fitzgerald and making the score 3-1.  Pippin then continued his own hot night by tripling off the fence in centerfield, scoring Payne and making it 4-1.  Mike Palmer entered the game for the Bulldogs in relief and succeeded in ending the threat, but McLean had added to their lead.

Fitzgerald sealed the deal for the Highlanders by knifing through the Stone Bridge lineup for the game’s final two innings.  McLean had earned a hard fought win over the Bulldogs, and were led by Buckley and Fitzgerald on the mound, as well as Erik Payne (3-3, RBI) and Quinn Pippin (2-3, 2 RBI) at the plate.  McLean also had played sterling defense all over the field in earning the win.

“Great team win for us tonight”, Coach Thomas said.  “Obviously we got some outstanding pitching from Buck and Sean.  Those guys really stepped up big multiple times during this game.  We also got great nights from E and Quinn, who were huge for us with runners on.  Those two are really swinging it well right now, as are a bunch of other guys.  Above all else, I’m just really proud of every player on our roster, because coming back and responding the way we did through this game is a testament to the character of this team.  We have great senior leaders and they are doing a tremendous job of keeping us moving in the right direction.”